Orlando City vs. Inter Miami: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More

Welcome to your match thread for a Saturday night Tropic Thunder matchup between Orlando City (2-7-1, 7 points) and the team’s Publix Enemies, Inter Miami CF (5-1-4, 19 points) at Nu Stadium (7:15 p.m., Apple TV). It’s the second of the two scheduled meetings between the sides this season, wrapping up the season series early.

Here’s what you need to know ahead of the match.

History

Orlando City is 7-5-4 in MLS regular-season games in the all-time series and 7-7-5 in all competitions between the clubs. The Lions are 3-4-0 on the road against the Herons in MLS play and 3-6-0 away in the series in all competitions. Tonight will be Orlando City’s first visit to Nu Stadium, having previously traveled to Fort Lauderdale to face Inter Miami, which has a name that is finally geographically correct.

The most recent meeting between the sides took place in Orlando on March 1. Marco Pasalic and Martin Ojeda staked Orlando City to a 2-0 lead by halftime, but things fell apart for the Lions after the break. Matteo Silvetti scored just minutes after the restart and Lionel Messi tied the game less than 10 minutes later. The game appeared headed for a 2-2 draw before Telasco Segovia struck late and Messi completed his brace at the end of normal time in a 4-2 Orlando City home loss.

The last meeting in South Florida came in Leagues Cup at Chase Stadium on Aug. 27, 2025, with Miami winning a predictably controversial game 3-1. Leading 1-0 on a Pasalic goal, Ivan Angulo was quite obviously fouled in the penalty area by Sergio Busquets, but it was ignored by match referee Walter Lopez. Miami later went up a man and tied the game from the penalty spot when Tadeo Allende baited Lopez into a call at the other end, sending David Brekalo off with a second yellow card. Messi scored from the spot and later gave Miami the lead just before stoppage time, with Telasco Segovia adding a late insurance goal.

Before the Leagues Cup match, the teams met only a couple of weeks earlier, on Aug. 10, when the Lions blew out the Herons 4-1 in Orlando to sweep the regular-season series. Luis Muriel scored early, only to see Yannick Bright equalize moments later. Muriel and Ojeda scored eight minutes apart early in the second half to blow open a close game, and Pasalic added an insurance goal.

On May 18, 2025, in Fort Lauderdale, Orlando City got its first win over a Messi-led Herons side. The Lions got goals from Muriel, Pasalic, and Dagur Dan Thorhallsson to win 3-0 at Chase Stadium.

Just about one year to the day before that meeting, the teams played to a scoreless draw at Inter&Co Stadium on May 15, 2024. The Lions’ trip to South Florida in 2024 resulted in a forgettable 5-0 loss for Orlando at Chase Stadium on March 2. Luis Suarez and Messi scored braces and Robert Taylor added a goal in a match Orlando City was never in, as it was already 2-0 just 11 minutes after kickoff.

The Florida rivals played to a 1-1 draw on Sept. 24, 2023. Duncan McGuire brought Orlando back from a 1-0 deficit after David Ruiz had given the Herons a 1-0 lead early in the second half. On Aug. 2 of that year, the teams met in Leagues Cup action and it was just as controversial as the 2025 Leagues Cup affair. The Herons were fortunate to not see Messi sent off with a second yellow late in the first half, and even more fortunate to get a soft penalty call on Antonio Carlos, as they won, 3-1. Messi opened the scoring after being ignored in the box early. Cesar Araujo made up for his uncharacteristic defensive lapse on the first goal by scoring 10 minutes later. Josef Martinez put Miami back on top with the Downy-soft penalty just after halftime, and Messi sunk in the dagger in the final 20 minutes.

The teams also met in Fort Lauderdale in MLS play on May 20, 2023, with Orlando City winning, 3-1. Ercan Kara’s early goal was canceled out by Leonardo Campana shortly before the hour mark, but Ojeda and Rafael Santos found the net in the second half to power the Lions to victory.

Inter Miami won at home, 4-1, on Oct. 5, 2022. Campana scored in the game’s first minute and Orlando City never settled in. Gonzalo Higuain added two goals — one from the spot — and Ariel Lassiter also scored before Kara pulled one back to spoil the shutout.

The first regular-season meeting of 2022 finished with a 1-0 Orlando City win at Exploria Stadium on July 9, as a stoppage-time own goal by Damion Lowe was the difference between the Lions earning just one point or all three. The ball was sent into the box by Jake Mulraney.

The teams also met at Exploria Stadium on May 25, 2022 in U.S. Open Cup action, with the two sides needing extra time after a scoreless 90 minutes. In extra time, Miami got a goal from Jean Mota against the run of play, but Facundo Torres quickly equalized for Orlando. The match ended 1-1 and Orlando won the ensuing penalty shootout, 4-2. Bryce Duke was denied by Mason Stajduhar and DeAndre Yedlin missed the net during the spot kicks, while all four Orlando shooters scored.

The intrastate rivals played to a scoreless draw in Orlando on Aug. 27, 2021. Tesho Akindele missed a penalty in the match, but the Lions had several other good opportunities to score (but didn’t) in a wasteful performance. Orlando and Miami battled to a 1-1 draw at Exploria Stadium on Aug. 4, 2021. Carlos scored in first-half stoppage time but was knocked into concussion protocol on the play by Kelvin Leerdam. Kieran Gibbs equalized in the 66th minute on a header in front of a less-than-attentive Ruan. Akindele had a goal called back after video review for being offside and the teams split the points. Earlier in the season, the Lions came from behind in Fort Lauderdale to win 2-1 on a pair of brilliant goals by Chris Mueller and Nani on June 25, 2021.

In the final meeting of 2020, the Lions saw their 12-match unbeaten streak end on Oct. 24 in a 2-1 road loss in Fort Lauderdale. Miami defender Leandro Gonzalez Pirez’s header in the 89th minute was the difference after a Daryl Dike goal and an own goal off Robin Jansson saw the game tied up at halftime. The teams met in Orlando on Sept. 12, 2020 with Orlando battling to a 2-1 win on Mauricio Pereyra’s goal. The Lions had taken the lead on an own goal by Andres Reyes. Former Lion Brek Shea tied things up in the second half before Pereyra answered.

The first meeting in Fort Lauderdale opened Phase 1 of Major League Soccer’s return to regular-season play after the MLS is Back Tournament during the pandemic. That one was an uncharacteristically sloppy match for the Lions, who fell 3-2 in Inter Miami’s first-ever home match. It was Miami’s first franchise win after an 0-5-0 start. Orlando trailed by more than one goal for the first time all season in that game. Dike and Nani provided the offense for Orlando, but Julian Carranza’s brace and Rodolfo Pizarro’s insurance goal were enough to lift the Herons.

The first Tropic Thunder match went Orlando City’s way, with Nani scoring late to lift the Lions to a 2-1 win over the upstarts from South Florida in the opening match of the MLS is Back Tournament. Despite it being a tournament match, it was also a league game. Juan Agudelo opened the scoring for the Herons, but Mueller equalized, setting the stage for Nani’s 97th-minute winner.

Overview

The Lions are coming off a wild 4-3 U.S. Open Cup win against the New England Revolution on Wednesday and a late-game collapse in a 3-2 road loss at D.C. United a week ago in league play, as Orlando City prepares to play its third match in eight days. The Lions have started scoring goals of late —10 in their last three games across all competitions — but Orlando City interim head coach Martin Perelman opted to play some starters (including both Martin and Braian Ojeda) heavy minutes in the midweek to get the result.

City’s defense has been spotty, playing mostly well since Robin Jansson returned from foot surgery, but it’s been leaky the last two games. Orlando City is still looking for its first road win of 2026 with an away mark of 0-4-1 and has been outscored 20-3 in five MLS games outside of Orlando this season.

Inter Miami also last played against New England, drawing the Revolution 1-1 at home one week ago, meaning tonight’s hosts will be on regular rest as compared to much of Orlando City’s lineup, which is visiting its third city in eight days. The Herons are unbeaten in their last 12 matches in all competitions (6-0-6) and they’re both winless and unbeaten in their new stadium (conveniently called Nu Stadium) at 0-0-3. The Herons will hope to make their in-state rivals their first victims in their new home, and just about everything is going in their favor for this match. They are playing much better soccer than Orlando this year, are at home, are better rested, have fewer injuries, and have been better at home than the Lions have been on the road.

Taking any points from this game will be a tall order for Orlando City. As usual against Miami, the Lions must do what they can to limit chances, especially by denying Messi the ball as much as possible and forcing him to give it up quickly when he gets it. It is not enough to be close to Messi when he gets inside the penalty area. His quick movements in either direction can open up either foot with just enough room for a well-placed shot, as was on display in the first meeting between the teams in March. Orlando must also pay close attention to Messi’s attacking teammates and avoid getting too caught up in trying to help cover Miami’s No. 10. Segovia and Tallende are dangerous, and German Berterame has started scoring as well.

The Lions will face a tough goalkeeper in Dayne St. Clair at the other end. It’s not easy to break out against Miami’s pressure, but if Orlando can do so cleanly — something the Lions did well in the first half but not at all in the second half back in March — the team’s attackers can get at the Herons’ back line and create opportunities.

Although the odds are heavily in Miami’s favor, it’s a rivalry game, so anything can happen.

“They changed their structure the last two games, but we know them, they know us, I think we are preparing (for) the game, especially preparing our team, which is always the priority,” Orlando City interim head coach Martin Perelman said ahead of the match. “We’re looking forward to (having) a good game. It’s not an easy task, especially because now we are recovering some of our guys, but we had a lot of injuries, so that makes more difficult the task…but the players are responding. They are doing a huge effort, an amazing effort.”

The Lions will be without Pasalic (thigh) and Joran Gerbet (knee), while Eduard Atuesta (shoulder), Brekalo (lower leg), McGuire (lower leg), and Nolan Miller (knee) are all listed as questionable. Miami will be without Silvetti (hamstring) and Sergio Reguilon (hamstring).

Match Content

• Our Ben Miller presents his three keys to an Orlando City victory in tonight’s match.
• The most recent episode of the PawedCast includes our key matchups and predictions for tonight’s match.

Official Lineups:

Orlando City (4-4-2)

Goalkeeper: Maxime Crepeau.

Defenders: Adrian Marin, Robin Jansson, Iago, Griffin Dorsey.

Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Luis Otavio, Braian Ojeda, Tiago.

Forwards: Martin Ojeda, Justin Ellis.

Bench: Javier Otero, Tahir Reid-Brown, Zakaria Taifi, David Brekalo, Eduard Atuesta, Wilder Cartagena, Colin Guske, Tyrese Spicer, Duncan McGuire.

Inter Miami (4-3-3)

Goalkeeper: Dayne St. Clair.

Defenders: Noah Allen, Maximiliano Falcon, Micael, Ian Fray.

Midfielders: Yannick Bright, Rodrigo De Paul, Telasco Segovia.

Forwards: German Berterame, Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi.

Bench: Rocco Rios Novo, Gonzalo Lujan, Facundo Mura, Cesar Abadia-Reda, Daniel Sumalla, Preston Plambeck, Alexander Shaw, Tadeo Allende, Daniel Pinter.

Referees:

REF: Guido Gonzales Jr.
AR1: Chris Elliott.
AR2: Adam Garner.
4TH: Fotis Bazakos.
VAR: Kevin Stott.
AVAR: Fabio Tovar.

How to Watch

Match Time: 7:15 p.m.

Venue: Nu Stadium — Miami.

TV/Live Stream: Apple TV.

Radio: AM 810 FOX Sports Radio Orlando (English), Mega 97.1 FM (Spanish), Nossa Rádio 1160 AM-WRLZ (Portuguese).

Social Media: For rapid reaction and live updates, follow us on Bluesky Social at @themaneland.bsky.social or follow Orlando City’s official Twitter (@OrlandoCitySC) or Bluesky (@OrlandoCitySC) feed.

Enjoy the game. Go City!